AN ACT to make special provisions to
exempt internally displaced persons from certain requirements of the
Registration of Electors Act, No. 44 of 1980; and to provide for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.

[Date of Commencement: 21st July, 2017]

Preamble

WHEREAS certain persons have been internally displaced as a
result of any actions of a terrorist militant or other group during the recent
past:

AND WHEREAS the State has formulated a policy to enable
internally displaced persons and their children eligible to vote to exercise
their right to franchise in the electoral district in which their permanent
places of residence were situated prior to being internally displaced:

AND WHEREAS it has now become necessary to make special legal
provision in order to give effect to such policy:

1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Registration of Electors (Special
Provisions) Act.

2. Internally displaced person eligible to be registered.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Registration
of Electors Act, and subject to the Article 89 of the Constitution, any citizen
of Sri Lanka—

(a)who
is or had been an internally displaced person;

(b)whose
name appeared in the register of electors for any electoral district for any
year, until the end of the year 2009; and

(c)whose
name has not been entered in any Register in operation subsequent to the year
2009,

shall on proof of the matters specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c)
and on production of a certificate issued by the GramaNiladhari of the area in which he is presently
residing to the effect that he is or had been an internally displaced person,
be entitled to the registering officer of the electoral district within which
he was permanently resident prior to May 18, 2009, to be registered in the
register of electors of such electoral district.

(2) The application referred to in subsection (1), shall be made
on or before the date specified by the Election Commission by notice published
in the Gazette and in at least one newspaper each in
the Sinhala, Tamil and English languages.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), the
entitlement granted under that subsection shall be extended to the children of
a citizen referred to in subsection (1)—

(a)who
had not attained the age of eighteen years on the date on which such citizen
became an internally displaced person and have attained the age of eighteen
years or more on the date on which the revision commenced in respect of the
Register in operation, at the time in which the application is made;

(b)who
are born after such citizen became an internally displaced person and have
attained the age of eighteen years or more on the date on which the revision
commenced in respect of the Register in operation, at the time in which the
application is made; and

(c)whose
name has not been entered in any Register in operation subsequent to the year
2009,

on production of the birth certificate of such child sought to be
registered and a certificate issued by the GramaNiladhari of the area in which he is presently residing on
proof of the matters specified in paragraphs (a) or (b) and (c) above.

3. List of claims.

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